Getting a 2-year-old to sleep in hotel room

[princessjv]

What worked for us:

1. Tired him out!
2. Tink presents for good boys
3. Pack n play with towel drapped over it (practiced sleeping in pack n play 2 weeks prior to trip)
4. Placed pack in play in a quiet alcove of room (POFQ/POR have a great curtain seperating sleeping area from dressing/bathroom area)
5. Brought favorite blankets from home
6. Brought IPod with portable speakers for constant light music
7. Brought nightlights for mom and dad to see in the curtained area where DS was sleeping

Hope this helps! I plan on trying it all over again for my 10M old this Oct.!

 

[fran99999]

I would go with the clothline/showercurtain route to make a separate room in the alcove. (dont send DH to get the shower curtain i did and he brought back a clear one.) I tried this for my Sept 04 trip, also because I couldnt change in the bathroom, too steamy. It worked great once I purchased the dark shower curtain for .99. I threw it out so I didnt have to bring home. It worked great.

When I went in May I reserved a room at WL for $137 a night. After research I found out the room setup is different it has an alcove off the bedroom so no curtain is needed. I just get dressed in there. If you can afford it maybe next time you could go there. It also has easier access to MK as it has both the busses and a boat access. My DS6 loved the boat. It also has a quiet pool at the VWL (we spent 4 nights there) that was acutally better set up for smaller kids. IMHO

Have a great (quiet restful) vacation

 

[HappyMommy2]

I would go with the clothline/showercurtain route to make a separate room in the alcove. (dont send DH to get the shower curtain i did and he brought back a clear one.) QUOTE]

 

[CLEO Z]

I would go with the clothline/showercurtain route to make a separate room in the alcove. (dont send DH to get the shower curtain i did and he brought back a clear one.)

I think your husband and mine were seperated at birth!

 

[minkydog]

This thread reminded me of how much i hated traveling when my kids were little... I don't think we went anywhere for 6years after my second one was born. THANK GOD they grow up!

Cathy--mom to John(18), Eleni(12), and Christian(10)

 

[asktriplets]

hi.

we were REALLY worried about our kids' sleeping through the night on our first trip down when they had just turned 2...we ended up staying at the Ft. Wilderness cabins for that reason! they had their own room (we set up pack-n-plays) and we didn't have to worry about them disturbing the "neighbors" when they did cry!

also, for what it's worth, my kids weren't regularly sleeping through the night at home, but they DID sleep much better while we were there. we had a few 3 or 4 am wake ups, but they fell right back to sleep in bed with us (something we NEVER do at home)!

on our last trip when the kids were 2 1/2, we had them in the wooden "cribs" at the poly. it was a bit of a tight fit (but they sleep all curled up, anyway), and if they hadn't fallen asleep almost immediately every night, i'd be worried that they could climb out, but we had no problems. i had all 3 "cribs" against the wall next to the bathroom, we had our string of christmas lights along the floor for "nightlights", and we used our white noise machine, as well. dh and i hung out in the bathroom, planning our next day's activities ,while the kids fell asleep (thankfully, they fell asleep quickly because sitting on the edge of that tub got uncomfortable FAST!!) we would then sneak out onto the patio/balcony for a drink.

both trips went MUCH better than i had anticipated in regards to sleeping. we have a trip planned for nov., and now that my 3 are out of their cribs and in "big kid" beds, i can't imagine how it will go in the hotel room (how will i contain them?!?!) . i'm not worried about it, though, because i know from experience that there is NOTHING like the sleep of a disney-world-exhausted toddler!! i know it'll work out somehow!

you'll have such a great time!!

 

[cruiserkaren]

hi.

we were REALLY worried about our kids' sleeping through the night on our first trip down when they had just turned 2...we ended up staying at the Ft. Wilderness cabins for that reason! they had their own room (we set up pack-n-plays) and we didn't have to worry about them disturbing the "neighbors" when they did cry!

also, for what it's worth, my kids weren't regularly sleeping through the night at home, but they DID sleep much better while we were there. we had a few 3 or 4 am wake ups, but they fell right back to sleep in bed with us (something we NEVER do at home)!

on our last trip when the kids were 2 1/2, we had them in the wooden "cribs" at the poly. it was a bit of a tight fit (but they sleep all curled up, anyway), and if they hadn't fallen asleep almost immediately every night, i'd be worried that they could climb out, but we had no problems. i had all 3 "cribs" against the wall next to the bathroom, we had our string of christmas lights along the floor for "nightlights", and we used our white noise machine, as well. dh and i hung out in the bathroom, planning our next day's activities ,while the kids fell asleep (thankfully, they fell asleep quickly because sitting on the edge of that tub got uncomfortable FAST!!) we would then sneak out onto the patio/balcony for a drink.

both trips went MUCH better than i had anticipated in regards to sleeping. we have a trip planned for nov., and now that my 3 are out of their cribs and in "big kid" beds, i can't imagine how it will go in the hotel room (how will i contain them?!?!) . i'm not worried about it, though, because i know from experience that there is NOTHING like the sleep of a disney-world-exhausted toddler!! i know it'll work out somehow!

you'll have such a great time!!

WOW! I'm gonna have my DH read your post. He's terrified of taking our ONE 2 year old to WDW.

 

[Mr Poohbrain]

OUR SOULUTION WHEN WE TOOK OUR DS (2) BACK IN MARCH AT THE
AKL WAS BUNK BEDS AND WE MADE A TENT OUT OF THE BOTTOM BED WITH
BEACH TOWELS BUT I DO NOT KNOW IF THEY HAVE BUNK BEDS EVERYWHERE

AWESOME idea!!!

Mrs. PB

 

[munchkinsmom]

Wow! You've gotten GREAT advice from everyone. Wish I had this resource when I started taking the kids to Disney. I remember the first time we took our DD (at 18 months) and thought to myself that we were crazy and that I was NEVER going to do this again. And then thinking this again when we took BOTH our DD (at two years) and our DS (at nine months). Believe me, it wasn't fun at all, but after talking about it, we made a conscious decision to keep trying. We felt that with continual practice and just "doing it", it HAD to get easier for us and the kids. And it did get easier, so don't get discouraged!

Here's what has helped us:

1. Our kids are often just sitting in a stroller when we walk around the parks all day, and they certainly tire out with all the sensory overload, but at some point, we try to find a quiet area where they can safely run around for a few minutes at least twice a day (AM/PM). Not only do they release all that pent up energy, they tire out faster and either nap in the stroller and/or sleep overnight.

2. We usually book at the same hotel, staying in the same room (or layout) everytime we go. Because of this, the Pack-and-Play is in the same area of the room everytime and the kids feel like they're at home because they're in familiar surroundings.

3. It's SO tempting to keep the kids up past their bedtime, but we've always made the effort to keep to their same bedtime routine and schedule (usually around 7PM for my children). We also try to get back to the hotel so that the kids have a little bit of downtime. Yeah, we miss the fireworks and night time activities, but the kids are SO much more easygoing and rested the next day. Getting a suite is VERY helpful when you do this, which is what we usually get. We have the kids in a separate bedroom, asleep and then my DH and I stay in the other room. We then have the rest of the evening to talk, eat dinner and decompress.

4. We do as much as we could to recreate familiar surroundings at night. We use our Pack-and Play and I bring the same blanket and stuffed animal that he puts in his crib at home. I also bring his Fisher Price Crib Aquarium because he's used listening to the same music every night as he goes to sleep. Because my kids sleep w/ a little bit of white noise, I once brought their white noise machine, but I found that the hotel's A/C does a good job of creating the same noise, so I don't bring that anymore.

Good luck!

 

[CleveRocks]

Our daughter was 2 years 7 months when we went in May, and had just switched to a big girl bed about one month before our trip. At home, we were having a lot of problems with her staying in bed, and combined with our occasional problems with our 5 year old son, we were dreading a week at WDW with them, in terms of their not sleeping.

We had a GREAT week. They were both soooo exhausted by the end of the day that they pretty much fell asleep as soon as we returned to our room. In fact, several nights my daughter fell asleep on the bus while being held and we just transferred her right into the bed.

We were very pleasantly surprised.

-- Eric

 

[mello]

We travel a lot on weekends in the winter, and this past year was quite an adventure with our 2yo dd. We worked out a plan where dh and the older boys would leave while I put her to bed, then I would turn off most of the lights, except one that I could read by, and I'd put my book up to my face and just ignore her. She'd be over there popping up, and saying "Hi Mama!", etc. and it was SO hard to just keep on reading and not respond, but that was the quickest way to get her to lay down and go to sleep; no response and she'd be out in a few minutes. But alas, then the guys would come in and she'd pop up again. Then dh would want to watch tv, and she'd pop up again. We just did our best to ignore it until the last light was out, and then she'd settle down and go to sleep. We'll be dealing with this again in September. Best of wishes to you!!!